If Only You Could Know
by Tiepobadaae
Summary: A new character is in storybrooke, but nobody can recognize her. That is, except one. Rated T for a whole lot of death and blood, including tongue removal, bloody footprints, and removal of body parts. And of course, bloody description of a self inflicted stab wound
1. Every Day

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of this, such as the amazing show once upon a time, though if they wanted to use this, I wouldn't be opposed.**

**So for those of you who don't know, this is my first non Les Miserables or phantom of the opera fanfiction. So this is how I'm hoping our (in my opinion) long awaited Storybrooke character comes in. This takes place after the 2****nd**** season mid-season finale.**

Emma was still trying to clean up for what had happened during her absence. Henry was being awfully clingy, and David seemed reluctant to let her or Mary Margaret out of his sight. She was currently sitting at the table in the apartment room that she shared with her mother. She sighed into her cup of coffee, as Mary Margaret sat down next to her.

"You know, I've been thinking." Mary Margaret said.

"About what?" Emma asked, not really all that attentive, as her mind was on far too many things at the moment to add even more.

"You really should start calling everyone by their real names. I know you do sometimes, but you forget a lot."

"It's just… difficult." Emma breathed. "I've been so used to calling you all by your Storybrooke names, and now that I know that the fairytale characters exist and… it just still seems a bit unreal to me." Mary- or Snow White put her arm around her daughter.

"I understand, but it's still good to try to remember." She beamed at Emma, and snatched her vacant coffee cup to transfer to the sink. They both turned when the phone started ringing. Emma pulled herself out of the chair, and picked it up.

"Hello?" Emma inquired.

"Hi Emma." David responded.

"Oh David, what's up?"

"You should come to the beach, someone found a body on the shore."

"A body? I'll be there in a minute." She hung up the phone, and turned to Snow White.

"What was that about?" She asked.

"Someone found I body on the beach, I gotta go check it out." She answered, pulling on her bag over her shoulders.

"A body? Can I come with you?"

"Sure, just don't get in the way." And they both marched out the door side by side.

When they got there, there were numerous people there, Henry, Regina, Gold, and David.

"Why are you all here?" Emma asked them, confused as to why there were so many people.

"Nobody can recognize this girl." David said. Emma walked over to get a closer look. The girl had dark wavy salt encrusted hair, fair skin and freckles. The girl was small, with tiny legs and feet that looked like they had almost no muscles, and was astonishingly beautiful, but was very young as well, only maybe in her early twenties.

"Are there any stories of girls from the water in your book, Henry?" Emma asked. Henry shook his head.

"No, at least, no human ones. There's just mermaids." He said sadly.

"Well," Gold spoke. "If it was a mermaid, which by the looks of it, was not, then it's a good thing she's dead."

"Why?" Emma asked. "Aren't mermaids supposed to be good, like half human, half fish?" At this, everyone except Emma broke out into hysterical laughter.

"Mermaids aren't human at all!" Regina said to Emma. "They are half fish, half siren."

"Well, either way, we still have to identify her." David said. Suddenly the girl made a slight groaning sound, as if in pain. Emma bent down, and noticed the girl was breathing.

"She's alive!" Emma exclaimed. "Help me get her to the hospital." She grabbed the girl's arms, and David grabbed her legs, and they moved her into the car.

"How is she?" Emma asked, as Dr. Whale came out to talk to them.

"She's fine, and if you want you can talk to her, she's probably ready to leave." Emma breathed a sigh of relief, and went into the room that the young girl was in. The girl was gazing happily at her legs, admiring every miniature toe, when Emma came in, and she looked up at her with green eyes.

"My name is Emma, and I need to ask you some questions, mainly because nobody knows who you are. So I guess that would be the first question, who are you?" The young girl looked up at Emma sadly, and moved her lips in answer to the question, but only air came out. The girl looked horrified, and confused at this, before Emma saw recognition fly through her expressive eyes, and then they were filled with sorrow.

"You can't speak?" Emma asked the poor girl. She shook her head sadly, and Emma saw that she had some sort of secret that she didn't really want anyone to know. Even though the girl was unable to talk, her large green eyes said everything. "I'm going to have to find out who you are through someone else then. Don't worry, you'll be safe. Why don't you come back to my apartment?" Emma gestured to the girl to walk with her. She stood up on unsteady legs, holding the bed for balance, then hissed in pain, and jumped back on the bed. Emma saw her bloody footprints where she had tried to stand. Emma reached out a hand to help the girl, and she half carried her back to her room. She felt bad for the girl, as she had obviously been through a lot, and experienced so much sadness at such a young age.

"Ruby." Emma called over to the red haired girl, little red riding hood. Ruby turned over to her, with plates in her hands.

"Emma, hi." Ruby replied, as friendly as usual. "Can I get you something?"

"No, actually, I came to talk to you."

"Ok just a minute." Ruby went over to the tables, and set down their food, before heading back to Emma. "What's up?"

"There was a girl found, unconscious on the beach this morning." Emma said seriously. Worry flashed through Ruby's face.

"Oh no, is she alright?" Ruby asked, sort of worried it might have been her fault.

"No, she's fine, and it wasn't you. We think she floated from the water. It's just that, well, nobody knows who she is, and I was hoping maybe you could recognize her." Ruby nodded.

"Sure, what does she look like?" Emma held up a picture for Ruby to see. She leaned down, and glanced over the picture, her brow furrowing in concentration. She sighed and leaned back up to look at Emma.

"Sorry, never seen her before in my life." Ruby stated sadly. Emma groaned in frustration.

"That's ok, sorry to bother you."

"It's fine. Good luck on that girl."

A combination of Emma, Snow White, James, Regina, and Henry could not figure out who the girl was. They looked all through Henry's story book, they even looked at other story books. Nothing. They talked to just about every person in the town, and even Gold had no idea who she was. Regina even tried to use magic to get a glimpse of her life, but the only thing they saw was from when she first woke up in Storybrooke. Emma finally resorted to asking random combinations of names to figure her out. They couldn't get anything on this girl. They were just about to give up when Henry thought of something.

"Jefferson." He spoke up suddenly.

"What?" Emma said. Her experience with that name had not been the most pleasant experience, so she didn't like the sound of that name coming up again, especially through Henry's mouth.

"We haven't talked to Jefferson yet."

"Of course." Regina spoke, surprised she hadn't thought of that idea herself. "Jefferson has been on many travels, and has met many people. We should go ask him."

"Do we have to?" Emma and Snow said in such perfect synchrony, that it was hard to tell that two people had spoken.

"I'll go." David said. Before anyone could even protest, he was out the door, impatient to finally solve this mystery.

Jefferson was setting up the tea table for his daughter when he heard the knock at the door. Confused at why anyone needed to talk with him, he opened the door to find none other than Prince Charming, with desperate looking eyes.

"And to what do I owe the pleasure?" Jefferson asked.

"Please, we need your help." Jefferson noted him coldly, and prepared to shut the door in his face.

"In case you don't remember, my hat is gone, so good luck finding whatever it is." He pushed the door almost stuck, but the prince stuck his foot in the way.

"Please, it's not about that."

"Then pray tell, what is it about?" Jefferson asked, his arms crossed as he leaned against the door frame.

"It's this girl, we have tried really hard, but nobody can identify her."

"And so you want me to help you."

"Yes." Jefferson was a bit reluctant to help him, and really didn't want to leave, but the look in the prince's eyes told him that he really ought to. He leaned back from the door frame, and sighed.

"Fine, take me to her." He said. James's eyes lit up, and he started walking back, and Jefferson followed. "So what does this girl look like?"

"She has fair skin, and dark hair with green eyes." Jefferson rolled his eyes.

"And you just succeeded in describing half the girls in Storybrooke. And let me guess, does she have hands too? How about some less common details?"

"Well, she has trouble walking, in fact, her feet bleed every time she tries, and she can't talk." Jefferson stopped right in his tracks.

"She… can't talk?" He asked, horror flying through him.

"Not a word." Jefferson started running towards the apartment as fast as he could, not truly believing it, but wanting to so badly.

When he finally got to the apartment, he knocked so hard and rapidly on the door, it made his knuckles raw. Emma came to answer the door. She took one look at him, and made a face of disgust, but invited him in all the same. The girl was sitting on the couch, looking at her legs when she heard him enter the room. She looked up at him and every facial feature on her face changed. First she just stared gawking, and then she lit up with the biggest smile of happiness Emma had ever seen. Jefferson looked astonished, and unsure, but there was a hint of true happiness behind his shock as well.

"Do you know who she is?" Emma asked.

"Y-yes, but she's supposedly dead, and has been for years."

"Who is she?"

**HAHA and I leave you on a cliff hanger, though I'm sure you can already guess who she is. Don't worry, this will all be explained in later chapters. So please review if you want another chapter! After all, it's good for me to take a break from les miserables, though honestly, I don't think I truly can, my les mis obsession is just unhealthy.**


	2. On My Own

**Disclaimer: I don't own either once upon a time, or little mermaid or les mis.**

**Sorry I haven't updated in a while, but I've been pretty busy. So, you probably have guessed who the girl is, what with the mermaid thing, and the bloody footprints. So, yeah. This is my first non- les mis related story, but I'm doing the little mermaid right now at my school, and I am trying to connect with Ariel more, so I can portray her better. Well, enjoy! And review.**

I seemed to always find myself sitting on a rock that comes out of the ocean. I would swim around, trying to think about what to do, but I always just ended up in the same place. Gazing yearningly at the house of that boy I saw walking on the shore. Just waiting for him to leave so that I may watch him, and listen to his voice. He would often take a gait along the beach by himself. He would chant a little to himself, in such a charming voice. Just like the first day that I laid my eyes upon him, and fell so hard for him. That boy which initiated all my fantasies about him, and hopes for us to be together. I remember the day I first saw him ever so clearly.

I had always detested being in the ocean, and I was enthusiastic about my fifteenth year, when I was allowed to finally journey to the surface of the water. It meant so much to me when I was finally able to make the journey. I saw the sun set into the evening sky, and glittering stars beginning to take over the heavens. The sea was calm, the air was slightly chilly, but it was nice to inhale fresh air for once. It all felt so free. I felt myself loving everything around me. I swam to a nearby rock, and sat there, for what could've been hours, just looking at my beautiful surroundings. Even though the sun rose, I still didn't leave my perch. Just feeling the wind wafting through my tousled, damp, and salt encrusted hair felt like heaven, and I sure as hell did not feel the need to leave from the spot where I was so pleased. That's when I heard it. A voice coming from the shore. It was such a lovely voice, nothing ethereal or breathtaking, but it was attractive all the same. At first, I was startled, and worried about being seen, but soon my curiosity got the better of me. I swam to the rocky shore, as discreetly as possible, trying not to be found. The boy I saw seemed to be only sixteen at most, and was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. He walked without fins under him, but with two supports instead. It felt as if the world around him that had just seemed so heavenly was now dull in comparison. His hair was dark, though not as dark as mine, and his eyes were blue, with the look of a dreamer. I didn't know why but I couldn't turn my emerald eyes away. I would've done everything for the boy. I would've given anything to see him look my way, to see him smile at me, and to hear my name on his lips. In the midst of my dreaming, I suddenly lost my grip on the rocks, and crashed with a loud noise. He jerked his head around for the source of the noise, and even called out, but I didn't answer, for I knew he couldn't know I was there. That's when it hit me. This boy could never love me, for it would be impossible to see me. I had no chance of seeing him smile at me, and hold his hand in mine. I loved him, but when the night is over, he was gone. He didn't know I existed. If I was to die, he surely wouldn't weep for me, he wouldn't even spare a thought for me. I love him, but only on my own. I watched him for a little while longer before jumping into the water, sadly. He doesn't even know my name is Ariel, and if he did, he surely wouldn't care. Not for me.

**Aww, how sad. I didn't mean for this to turn out so sad. Remember how I said this my first non les mis related story? Well, I just couldn't help myself with the les misness.**


	3. Little He Knows

**Disclaimer: I don't own either once upon a time, or little mermaid.**

**So I decided this story might have to skip a little. Well, enjoy! And review.**

"Jefferson?" Emma was getting rather tired of this game. He just seemed to stare at her, and without saying anything, and she just stared back. "Jefferson!" Emma shouted. He jumped.

"What!" He breathed, startled.

"You going to tell me this girl's name, or are you just going to stare at her like she's a ghost." Emma realized her poor choice of words too late, as that might be exactly what this girl is.

"Her name is Ariel. She means everything to me. I loved her once, and I still do." Ariel's face glowed when she heard him say this.

"Details, maybe?" Emma asked Jefferson. She snapped in front of his face, as he was staring at Ariel again, sadness mixed with joy in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, I don't know much. She's been a mystery to me for quite some time as well." Jefferson stepped closer to her, hesitantly, as if he was afraid she was going to disappear from him again. He was so worried he was never going to see her again if she disappeared. He had truly thought he lost her forever when she was gone from him. He didn't care about her past, as long as she was here again. He reached out to touch her face and she shot out a hand to fall into his embrace. Jefferson couldn't help but remember the last time he held her like this. He cringed at the memory of holding her blood soaked body in his arms, while she smiled at him, happy to be with him. And when she rested her head against his shoulders, and he felt her body go loose, and he saw the life slip from her eyes. He could never forget.

"Well, what's the story? Come on, I have all day, and I've been trying to solve this mystery for forever." Emma just glared at Jefferson's relunctantness to tell the full story, but at the same time, couldn't help but feel a little jealous, though she knew that it was ridiculous. Jefferson was still embracing Ariel, and didn't even bother to look up at Emma to answer her question.

"It's a long, and very boring story." Jefferson spoke, not exactly

**Well, it seems my chapters are a bit short lately. Well review please! I update faster on the stories that have more reviews.**


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